Chapter 4

Saturday morning started slowly. Alice and I had spent it in bed talking about what she was going to do about the baby. She said she had no other choice then to keep it. First she wanted to see a doctor before she told anyone, I had agreed to go with her for support.

We went downstairs around noon to find that everyone in the house was gone. Mom took Seth, Leah and Jane to First Beach and Dad was working. I liked the quietness of our house when no one else was home. It was rather nice.

"Jasper mentioned that everyone was getting together at your house tonight?" I questioned as I unpeeled a banana.

"Yeah, my parent's are in the Bahamas so Emmett thought it'd be a perfect night to throw a party." Alice flipped back her hair. "He'll do anything to be able to drink."

"That's true." I said looking at my banana that instantly become unappetizing. "You think Rosalie will be there?"

"No doubt." Alice said with a sad look on her face. "Oh my God! I completely forgot to ask you how your date with Jasper went last night?"

I couldn't help but smile. I got that tingly feeling in my stomach and I instantly couldn't wait until tonight so I could see him again.

"Perfect. Jasper's great." I sighed dreamily.

"You know Bella, maybe Jasper Hale will be the one that makes you get over my stupid brother." Alice said getting a bottle of water out of the fridge.

"I can only hope so." I bit my bottom lip in thought. I really liked the sound of that…

An few minutes later Alice and I retreated to my living room to watch trashy reality TV. Not thirty minutes later did Edward and his boyfriend Jacob Black walk into my house. I hugged Jacob enthusiastically. We had actually gotten close as friends with Edward gone since the both of us had missed him so much.

When you looked at Edward and Jacob there was no denying that the two of them were just meant to be together. It took them a lot longer to figure that out then it did the rest of us. We've known Jacob since we were freshmen but it wasn't until the middle of junior year that the two of them got together. Jacob went to school in La Push so that could have something to do with it. Now, all of that has changed. Jacob's become a permanent fixture in our lives. I have no doubt in my mind that the two of them will end up together in the end.

"Alice, you look like you haven't gotten a bit of sleep." Edward sat down next to Alice on the couch. Alice sighed and hugged Edward telling him she was just having a bit of insomnia. Truthfully, I knew that wasn't the case. Considering Alice could fall asleep anytime, anyplace. "Bella-Bee, how was your date with the hot cowboy?" Edward received a glare from me and a raised eyebrow from his boyfriend. "Babe, you'd think this boy was hot too if you saw him." Edward patted Jacob's leg. "Plus, you know you're the only one for me." Have I mentioned that the two of them really made me sick at times? No? Well, they do.

"You'll be meeting him tonight, Jake. You're coming to my house right?" Alice spoke up.

"Of course, pix." Jacob smiled at her.

"Anyway, my date with Jasper last night was great…" I said after Jacob had sat down between Alice and me.

"Did you sleep with him?" I suddenly wished Edward wasn't on the other side of the couch so I could slap him.

"I'm not a slut!" I said defensively.

"I'm joking, Bella-Bee." Edward laughed. "You think you'll be seeing him again?"

"Well, he's going to be at Alice and Emmett's tonight and he mentioned a next time…" I suddenly got shy talking about Jasper. I was never shy about boys or anything when it came to talking to Edward about them.

"I do believe our Bella-Bee has found someone to replace the stupid and obnoxious Emmett" Alice spoke out happily. It's kind of sad when his own sister calls him stupid and obnoxious.

"It was only one date, guys. No need to start the wedding bells." I rolled my eyes at my friends as I got up off of the couch.

I was about to walk into the kitchen to grab something to drink when there was a knock at the front door. I opened the door to find a seriously distraught James Volturi. He was clutching at his hair while his eyes were bloodshot.

"Where is Alice?" He asked sounding rather angry. I wasn't sure if I should let him see her with how he was acting. James was known for his off the wall temper. "I know she's here!" He slammed his fist against the doorframe. I jumped back with a gasp.

"James?" Alice's voice came from behind me. "What is going on?" She pushed past me to see him. "You…you're using again aren't you?" Her voice quivered.

"You never showed up last night! You said you would and I thought…"

"I told you I was staying with Bella. You said that was okay." Alice reached out to touch him but he jerked back.

"You're hiding something from me!" He screamed. I had never seen this side of James. I had only heard about it, but he had apparently straightened up when he met Alice.

"James, leave. I can't talk to while you're so angry and high!" Alice spoke loudly then pushed me out of her way and went back into my house. I quickly followed her slamming the door in James' face. "He said he stopped! He was supposed to stay clean for me, he promised!" Alice wailed as Edward captured her in his arms.

"Does he always yell at you like that?" Jacob asked walking over to his boyfriend and Alice. I just stood there confused. Alice never mentioned that James had ever had a drug problem.

"Just lately. He's been so stressed out." She sniffled.

"Al, look at me…does he hit you?" Edward caught her face in his hands.

"No, he'd never hit me." Alice spoke so clearly that I knew she was telling the truth. That didn't mean he wasn't being emotionally abusive.

Edward brought Alice over to the couch and sat her down. She was shaking and blubbering, a lot like she had been the night before. I decided to wait until she was done being so upset to ask her what was going on. I knew I wouldn't get much of an answer right now, anyway.

Jacob, Edward, Alice and I sat in my living room watching movies the rest of the day. Alice had kept a hold on Edward ever since James left. Every time he would try to get up or more she would freak out again.

My Mom and siblings came home later in the afternoon right when we were supposed to be getting ready for the party at the McCarty's. I could already tell Alice was in no shape or form to go to a party. I tried telling her this but she refused to let what was going on with James ruin her night. We were finally able to get her to let go of Edward so that she could go freshen up before leaving. It seemed she had just been in some form of shock.

"I've never really liked that James guy." Jacob spoke up in my quiet bedroom. Alice was in the bathroom still and I was trying to pick out something to wear.

"He keeps to himself, so I never got to know him." I said deciding on a simple pair of jeans and a blue tank top. I shooed both of the boys out of my room so I could get dressed. I slipped on a zip-up hoodie after I was in my jeans and top before opening the door open for them to come back in.

Alice exited the bathroom soon after with a clean face. Her things were at her house so she was going to wait until we got there to get ready.

The first thing I spotted as we pulled into the McCarty's driveway was Jasper's Ford. I couldn't keep the smile off my face nor could I keep the butterflies in my stomach at bay.

"Bella-Bee, don't hide from Jasper. Show him that beautiful girl I know you are." Edward whispered in my ear after we had all gotten out of his Volvo. I looked at him and smiled.

I knew the McCarty house like the back of my hand. Mostly because Alice and I had been friends long before Emmett and I ever hooked up, so I spent a lot of my weekends here. I walked through the foyer with my friends behind me heading into the den where I knew everyone would most likely be. The party wouldn't start for another two hours or so. I spotted Jasper instantly. He was sitting at the bar talking to Emmett who was standing behind it fixing a drink.

If I were brave then I probably would have walked over there and had a conversation with them, but I'm not brave. So, I just went upstairs to help Alice get ready. That was easier then confronting the two of them together. I just knew that would be a little bit awkward. After all I still have feelings for Emmett, one date with Jasper Hale wouldn't change that.

"I wonder how big I'm going to get." Alice was standing in front of her set of mirrors with her shirt pulled up to expose her belly. She was such a tiny girl so it was going to be strange to see her pregnant. "I don't want stretch marks." She pouted.

"You might not get any." I shrugged not really knowing anything about pregnancy. I was real young when my parent's had my siblings, so I really never paid much attention.

"Bella?" Alice pulled her shirt down and turned towards me.

"Yeah?" I sat down on the edge of her twin bed.

"I've never really talked to anyone about James so this is hard for me…" She sat down next to me pulling her legs up onto the bed. I turned my body so that I was facing her. "Do you know how James and I met?"

"No, not really." I shook my head. All I know is that Alice and James started dating at the beginning of Sophomore year after he had moved down the summer before with his parents. Alice kept her relationship with James just as private as James kept his life.

"Remember how I was visiting my grandparent's the summer before sophomore year?" She asked and I nodded. "Well, I wasn't in New York like I said I was…I was in a rehab center about an hour or so away from here."

"Why?" I asked quickly.

"I got into drugs freshman year…" She trailed off looking away. Alice and I hadn't talked much that entire year. She was hanging out with a bad group of people that I didn't want any part of. I never knew that they had gotten her into drugs or that she had landed in rehab. "Emmett was the one to find me on the floor after I had almost over-dosed on cocaine." Alice started to cry making me tear up.

"I never knew…" I looked away from her. I was a little upset that she had never told me about this, she was supposed to be one of my best friends. I thought that I knew everything about her, I guess I was wrong.

"I didn't want you to know. I didn't want you to feel sorry for me or hate me for the person I was becoming. Anyway, back to how I met James." She took a deep breath then went on. "He was in the same center as me. He was in for heroin and alcohol abuse. He's from Arkansas and his parent's saw Fork's as a way to get him out of his old habits." Her lip quivered as she spoke. "I knew everything about his past when school started back up. I felt that us together was good…we could keep each other in line. You know? I knew his past and he knew mine…it would be easy. Except it hasn't been easy."

Alice stopped talking so I took that moment to hug her. I knew this was probably difficult for her to speak about. Hell, it was difficult to hear. I had never suspected any of this.

"He went a year before he relapsed. The middle of junior year…he got high with a couple of my old friends. He spent two weeks not speaking to me and I thought we were over…until he showed up to my house and I helped him get clean again. I figured that would be the last time…but about a month ago he started getting really mean." Alice stopped and pulled away from me. She stood up and looked at herself in the mirrors again. "I lied when Edward asked if he ever hit me. I lied because I love James with everything in me." Alice pulled her right sleeve up showing me a large dark bruise on her shoulder. I gasped and stood up.

"Why didn't you tell someone?" I asked feeling angry with James. If any of the guys got wind of this then I knew for a fact that the guy would be dead. I suddenly wanted to tell them.

"I love him, Bella." She spoke clearly. "I know it's stupid, but I love him and there's no way I'll ever get him in trouble."

"This isn't right, Alice." I frowned at her.

"I never said it was…but he promised to not do it again and I believe him."

"Was that the first time?" I asked. I was hoping she would say yes but when she shook her head I wanted to scream.

"You can't tell anyone, Bella. Promise me you'll keep this a secret." Alice begged. I wanted to say no. I wanted to run right down stairs to tell her brother but I stopped myself. I stopped myself because I knew Emmett would kill James and Emmett didn't need that kind of record. I also knew that Alice would never forgive me, I couldn't have that.

"I won't but you have to promise me something." I bit my lip.

"What?"

"You'll stay away from him." I said clearly.

"I can't…this baby…Bella, you can't ask me to do that." She started to tear up again.

"He's an addict, Alice. He's also abused you, how can you even forgive him of that?"

"You don't understand." She reached for a sweatshirt and pulled it on. I didn't even know Alice owned one of those…

"I understand that he's hurting you and you need to get away from him. I just wish you'd understand that, too." My voice raised a little. I wasn't sure how she expected me to take any of this.

A few moments later there was a knock on Alice's door. Edward's head poked in. He had a frown on his beautiful face when he saw us. Edward walked in and wrapped his arms around us and pulled us into him. He kissed the top of our heads telling us that everything was going to be okay.

Edward had this thing about him…he could just tell when something wasn't right or something bad was going on. He always joked with us saying he could read minds.

Edward coaxed us out of Alice's bedroom an hour later. The house was starting to fill up. I wasn't in the mood for a party anymore. I tried to bail a couple of times but Alice refused to let me leave. I ended up staying only because I didn't want her to be alone. And, maybe because Jasper was there…but mostly for Alice.

The McCarty house was full of people by the time midnight came around. Almost everyone in the house was inebriated. I always liked being the sober one with a bunch of drunks. It was funny watching them all make fools of themselves.

I walked into the kitchen to find soda when I spotted Emmett in there alone. I almost turned around until he called my name.

"What?" I asked liked I wasn't happy to talk to him.

"You look good, Bella." He stumbled a little walking over to me.

"You're wasted." I said as a statement and not a question because there was no doubt about that Emmett was three sheets to the wind. "You should probably go find Rosalie before you pass out." I walked around to the other side of the kitchen to get away from him.

"Why are you moving so fast?" He groaned clutching at his head.

"I've never seen you this drunk…"

"I usually have no reason to be this drunk." He returned. I didn't care what his reason was. I just wanted to get away from him. I didn't like seeing him this way.

I walked out of the kitchen leaving him in there alone and ran straight into Jasper. I gasped when I felt his amazing arms circle around my waist. I couldn't smell a hit of alcohol on him which made me smile. He didn't want to be drunk to want to be around me. I felt his lips on my temple.

"You doing okay?" He asked. I nodded closing my eyes. "Want to go for a walk?"

"I need to tell Edward to watch Alice for me." I said opening my eyes. I looked up at him and into his beautiful blue eyes. Jasper let go of my waist and grabbed my hand pulling me through the crowd of people. I could already tell this party was going to be shut down within in the next couple of hours. Charlie usually let us have our fun before cutting the lights off and pulling me out of the house.

I found Alice sitting on her stairs with Edward at her side already.

"I'm going for a walk with Jasper." I told them. "Alice, maybe you should tell Edward…" I started but she quickly shook her head. "I'll be back. Don't leave her alone." I instructed Edward.

Jasper led me out of the house quickly trying to avoid getting stopped by anyone on our way out. Once outside he wrapped his arm out my shoulder and pulled me close to him. I wrapped my arm around his waist and kissed his cheek.

"Your friend Alice seems like she has a lot on her shoulders." Jasper observed.

"She does." I said trying to get a little closer to him as we walked. His body was giving off amazing body heat, the wind was making sure that I was cold. "How are you liking Forks so far?"

"I've always hated this town. Ever since my Dad moved out here and we started spending Summer's with him…but I think I'm starting to like it here." He smiled and looked down at me. "Have you always lived here?"

"Ever since I was born." I told him. "I'm not sure I would know how to live anywhere else." I said truthfully.

Everyone I knew talked about moving out of Fork's once high school was over. I wasn't so sure about that. I rather liked my small rainy town. It was familiar, I didn't like the unknown very much. That could be the reason why I was so nervous with Jasper. With Emmett I knew what was going on, but with Jasper…he was so mysterious. In this situation, Emmett was Forks and the rest of the world was Jasper.

"I haven't seen your sister tonight." I said as we walked around the back of the house.

There was a tire swing at the edge of the yard. That tire swing was the spot where I had first kissed Emmett. It was one of course at a party…and Emmett was of course drunk. I was sober so every choice I made that night was all me. Emmett and I didn't start hooking up until the next month at a different party. That one wasn't at the McCarty's, which meant I lost my virginity in the backseat of Emmet's jeep.

Instead of walking towards the swing we went right past it and back around to the front of the house. Jasper took his keys out of his pocket and asked if I wanted to go somewhere.

"Rosalie doesn't like parties." Jasper explained to me. "She stayed home but I'm sure she'll be with Emmett before the night is over."

"It's strange to think that she's your twin. I mean…you two are completely different." I said buckling myself in.

"Rosie isn't so bad, Bella. She's actually a great person to be around but like I told you, she feels threatened by you."

"I don't understand why…"

"Because she loves Emmett and she sees you as a threat to their relationship."

"Emmett and I were nothing…" I looked out the window.

"Everyone knows that's a lie." Jasper spoke harshly. I widened my eyes as I looked over at him.

"I'm not here for you to judge me." I frowned.

"I'm not judging you…I'm sorry. It's just I know that the two of you had something. I'm just jealous." He finally said keeping his eyes on the road.

"Jealous? Of what?"

"The fact that Emmett has your heart and I don't."